let's get jinkie with it

Kit raised an eyebrow at her assumption. “It must be her.” He added. He had no scientific explanation on why his head was so adamant that it must have been her work, and yet there he was thoroughly convinced that it was hers. Kit didn’t want to say anything else so as to fuel her snide remarks. It was ridiculous enough that he was looking for a stranger, but the fact the he seems to have been madly in love with her just by their casual conversation might even put him to rehab.

“Good. I didn’t like the way that story ended.” He chuckled, sipping from his glass of whiskey. “Then it is settled then. We have our deal.” Kit nodded. “If you wish to know more, I’d be happy to provide you with everything. Unfortunately, that is all I’ve got.”

“I mean,” Velma started, “I’d like to know more, assuming you can tell me more about what she looks like, what she was wearing, what time she was at the party- but if you can’t tell me any of that, well, I’ll be on my way.” Either Kit was going to tell her more about the mystery girl, or she was heading home- but no matter what, she was going to avoid that party. 

@jinkie-v·

Fred wasn’t good with a lot of things: girls, directions, spelling restaurant without autocorrect. That’s why he always liked to hang around people that are so smart and maybe he’d absorb some of it. Not to mention, Velma was pretty fun to be around and listening to them talk about this mystery they were solving. To Fred it was like a real life tv show or something. “Any leads on the mystery girl you’re trying to find for Richie Rich?” Fred had a few nicknames for Kit, actually. Not everyone got more than one most of the time but he’d known Kit since they were kids growing up together. That gave Fred more years to find a few golden nicknames that he had to keep around. “I gotta hear the latest, Red!” That was the one he’d officially chosen for Velma. 

“Shh! Keep your voice down!” Admittedly, Velma had gotten just a wee bit paranoid as of late that her Mystery, Inc. friends- Shaggy, Daphne, and the other Fred- were going to find out about her solo case. Still, while she liked Fred- this Fred- she didn’t exactly trust him to keep it all on the down-low. He was just a little too loud, friendly, and chatty for that. “I might’ve gotten some help from Wendy at the Mystery Shack, but so far, nothing else. It’s kind of incredible- I mean, I thought this case would be easy, but it’s actually managing to stump me. What do you think?” Fred wasn’t exactly a detective, but he was good at thinking out of the box, that was for sure. 

xx

Wendy widened their eyes as they replied to Velma, “honestly getting rid of those student loans seems more serious than life or death. I’m here to help.” Wendy thought back, they don’t tend to go to a lot of parties, especially the rich kind of parties. They were more into the smoke and hang at home kind of parties.

“Chances are, don’t know the Kit guy. Doesn’t really sound like my type and you know how I feel about the rich,” they finish with a disgusted face. Looking at the ground before continuing, Wendy peeks up at Velma with a smile, “don’t get jealous now.” They pause. “I might know the girl. Do you know any more about her? Hair? Smile? Or… uh… lips?” 

Velma nodded, “It’s way serious.” Velma’s parents may have been professors at the exact same university they attended, but the financial office barely gave them any discounts for that fact. Still, if their parents hadn’t been professors, they would be in even more debt, so they considered themselves lucky. 

“Yeah, to be honest,” Velma began, “he’s not really my type, either. I feel the same way about the rich- you know that. But this one rich guy in particular is willing to actually pay the person he’s employing, so there’s that.” Velma shook her head and smiled. “I promise to keep my envy to a minimum. I was able to find a single really light blonde hair on the glove, which means it was probably her hair. So who might she be, Wen?” 

xx

“Well then maybe you always look nice,” Wendy replies as they walk towards the front of the store. They jump up and sit on top of the counter that holds the register, looking back at Velma. 

“Okay, so definitely business. A case on your own? This must be serious, I’m honored that you would come to me,” they finish with a wink. As much as Wendy loves teasing Velma, they know she takes her cases seriously, so they don’t want to mess around too much. Plus, they genuinely want to help her. No matter what she needs. 

Wendy doesn’t find themselves going to many big parties, but they do tend to meet a lot of people. Or hook up with them. “Hm, okay, I can try to help. What do they look like? You might want to describe this Kit guy too.. just in case.”

Velma shrugged. “Serious as in, it’s a life or death situation? Not really. But serious as in this guy is rich enough to pay off my student loans and will do so if I find this girl?” This time, she nodded. “Hell yes, it’s serious.” 

She tilted her head up a bit and put her hands on her hips, trying to think how to best describe Kit and his mystery girl. “Kit’s nice enough. Tall, floppy brown hair, probably cute enough to be a Twitter White Boy of the Month if he were famous. And like I said, the guy’s loaded, which made me think that, if this girl was at his party, she must be, too, right? But look-” She pulled out of her purse the glove given to her by Kit. “This looks to be handmade. It’s nice stitching, but the material’s real cheap. So if she’s not rich, what was she doing at Kit’s party?”

Now she was leaning across the counter next to Wendy, holding her chin in her hands. “Other than that, I know she has blue eyes, she likes books, she’s into politics...and that’s about it. Sound like anyone you would know?” She quirked her eyebrow at Wendy, waiting for their answer.

xx

They know they shouldn’t leave the front unattended for too long but after receiving a panicked call about an order of enchanted giraffe hairs, Wendy thought it would be a good time to check the back. When they hear the front bell ring they quickly stand up from the box they were searching through, hitting their head on the shelf above. Shit, ow, shit a customer. When Wendy hears Velma’s voice echo through the shop, they sigh with relief.

“What’s up Velms?” Wendy says as they leave the back and turn the corner into the front of the store, “You here for pleasure or business?” Wendy stops short when they see Velma standing by the register. “Dang Velms, you look nice today,” Wendy says with a smile. 

“Hey, Wen,” she said as Wendy entered the front room of the Mystery Shack. She couldn’t help but smile, and maybe blush a little, at their cheeky compliment. “I feel like I look the same as always, but thanks.”

Flirting with Wendy was always fun, but Velma had a much more important reason to be here today. “So here’s the thing: I’m working on a case- alone. None of the others know about it. You can’t tell them about it, either- not Daphne, not Fred or Shaggy, not even Scooby.” She realized, for a moment, how stupidly paranoid she sounded. “It’s not life or death or anything. It just...happens to be secret.”

“There’s this rich guy, Kit,” they continued, “and he hired me to find a mystery girl that he met at a party. And I know you know, like, half the girls in Animania, so I figured I might as well ask.” 

The Mystery Shack did not deserve its name, as the only true mystery about it was how it kept attracting tourists every summer. But thankfully Velma wasn’t there for the cheap scares straight out of a Spirit Halloween- she was there for Wendy. They were basically friends with benefits at this point- at least, that’s how Velma saw it. She wasn’t sure if the same was true for Wendy, but she could ask them that later. 

They opened the door to the Mystery Shack, and funnily enough, didn’t see Wendy at their usual post at the register, looking unbearable bored. It didn’t seem like anyone was there, actually. “Wendy? You here?” Velma called out. 

“Well, you have to be there to see it.” Kit winked, sipping from his glass of whiskey. “ Well, I don’t mind being a Romeo or a Darcy. If I hadn’t told you this story, I could have been a Gatsby.” For the most part that was true, Kit is a rich young man fond of hosting extravagant parties. For the people who didn’t know his Romeo story, he was certainly more of a Gatsby. 

“Do you think it’s homemade?” Kit suggested. He understood what she was saying. It was common for the folks around him to wear something from a well-known brand, but like what Kit has argued so far, the masked woman was of different caliber. “Well… we talked about books. She also likes Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre. We did talk about the complexity and politics behind the creation of those books.” He fondly remembered how articulate she was when arguing about the things she was passionate about. “Oh.. we also talked about our future and dreams….and then somehow I thought she was going to be in my future but she had ended up in my dreams instead.” 

Velma considered Kit’s suggestion as she examined the glove once more. “You know,” she started slowly, “it just might be. The material itself doesn’t seem too expensive, but the stitching is very well-done. She might’ve made it herself, and if she did, she’s a talented seamstress. So, there’s another clue already.”

Velma nodded as Kit described his mystery woman’s love of literature, though they wanted to barf at his attempt at being poetic. “Clearly you’re not Romeo, as Shakespeare would've never considered writing a line so corny.” 

-

Daphne took a big piece of cotton candy and plopped it in her mouth. It was her way of scarfing anything down. It was honestly so sugary sweet that she wasn’t sure if she was going to finish it in the first place. But she said she would, so she guessed she was going all in. She took another big piece and gave a little bit of a grimace as she did so. Hopefully Velma didn’t notice.

“I saw Shaggy and Scoob earlier. They were…eating, like normal. I don’t know if he’s gonna get on any of the rides because he’s afraid of things that are fast and tall, but he might surprise us.” She sighed a little bit. “I haven’t seen Fred. It’s driving me crazy a little bit. Like, what if he is here with someone who isn’t a part of the gang? Like a date?”

Velma shrugged, casually eating her funnel cake because she definitely didn’t have a crush on Daphne and didn’t care if she had a crush on Fred. “He’s probably convinced that there’s a mystery to be solved here,” she said between bites, “and is setting a trap by the Ferris wheel or something. He does have a thing for traps, as you know.”

Daphne perked up the moment she realized it was Velma. She adored them so much and she was really impressed by their outfit. “You look so good!” she squealed, almost pulling them in for a hug but stopping when she realized she still had cotton candy in her hands and they had funnel cake in their hands. That would have been a complete fashion disaster and she was not having that during an event of all things.

“I’m super down to go on some rides with you. We gotta find the rest of the gang later to see what they are doing so we can take some photo’s and have some fun without some creep trying to chase us through town for once.” She didn’t think she was asking for much, but now she was wondering if she just jinxed them all. “Let me just scarf down this cotton candy and I am all yours.”

“Scarf it away,” Velma insisted as they did the same to their funnel cake. They had plenty left, and would’ve offered some to Daphne if she didn’t already have cotton candy. Besides, Velma knew Daphne would freak if even a smidgen of powdered sugar managed to make it onto her outfit. Knowing her, she probably had planned it months in advance. 

“So,” they asked between bites, “have you seen Fred and Shaggy around? I haven’t yet, but they’ll probably be around soon. Wonder if Shaggy is going to try to get Scooby onto any rides? Not that that would be allowed, but I doubt Shaggy would care.” 

@jinkie-v·

Amity Park was quiet at night, that’s why it was his favorite time to be outside. The sunlight was nice and all but the peacefulness of dark always hit different. It didn’t help that his sleep schedule was an absolute nightmare. He couldn’t help it, sleeping in was nice and staying up was fun. Fred was plopped outside on a curb and scoping out the situation of the night when footsteps caught his attention. As to not startle them he decided to speak up, “Kind of late to be out for a walk, isn’t it? Most people aren’t weirdos like me that sit on curbs in the middle of the night suspiciously.” 

Velma had finally found her way out of Kit’s obnoxious-rich-people party, and boy, was she glad for it. Then again, it had been worth it, at least, because she had a brand new case to sort out with extra pay to boot. But this case had to be kept secret from her friends, and as she exited the mansion, she started to reconsider if it was worth it. As she got back to her motorized scooter, she almost didn’t notice the person sitting on the curb. “Oh, hey,” she nodded at him casually. “Fred, right? Shouldn’t you be inside?” She remembered this Fred specifically because he had the same name as one of her best friends but acted more like another best friend- namely, Shaggy. 

“Sure. I won’t force you. Although I would have to say that there’s a lot of people out there that could be a good connection for you. Other detectives too..” Kit answered, sipping from his glass. He’s particularly proud of his image as a great host, so it’s only natural to invite people in. “But like I said, up to you.” He smiled and raised his glass.

Kit simply stared at her as she laughed it off. He understood why, of course. He had thought it through multiple times and all he could think about was how foolish it was. And yet, he stared at her blankly waiting for an end. “Glad you’re finished.” He nodded and continued on. “Personally, I like Pride and Prejudice more.” He added.

“Good, then it’s settled then.” Kit gave her the box of silver glove the masked woman left. “She left this in a hurry. All that I can tell you is that she’s smart, graceful and has very beautiful blue eyes.” Still, he felt kind of silly to even go through the idea. However, if it provides peace to his troubled soul, then perhaps it was worth the try. 

“Oh?” Velma raised an eyebrow, as well as her glass to her lips. “There are more detectives around? Do name them. You’ve piqued my curiosity.” It wasn’t that Velma didn’t expect there to be any other detectives within Animania; it’s that she was sure they weren’t nearly as qualified as she, or any of her friends. Maybe she was being cocky, but it wasn’t cockiness based off of nothing. 

She was taken aback for a moment. As it turned out, Kit had a witty side. Not that it was anything Velma couldn’t go toe-to-toe with. “Ah. Jane Austen. Not bad. It just seemed to me that you’re more of a love-struck Romeo than a proud, closed-off Mr. Darcy.” She shrugged. “I call ‘em as I see ‘em.” 

She examined the glove given to her by Kit as she listened to his extensive list of qualities describing his mysterious dream girl. “Smart, graceful, blue eyes- got it. Hmmm...” She observed the glove even closer. “It’s not a very high-end glove. Not of poor quality, but you’re not going to find it at a store on Rodeo Drive or anywhere like that- which is odd, since she was at your party and, well...you’re rich. Interesting.” She looked back to Kit. “What did you two talk about that night?” 

open starter location: coulter’s beach and boardwalk

daphne was super excited to be near the beach and soaking in the good vibes from everyone there. echo creek had really outdone itself with the bursts of color on every corner, and the carnival itself just looked so lovely. daphne wasn’t even sure where to start and since she had yet to find her crew, she was just walking around aimlessly as she tried to decide what to do. she eventually stopped for some cotton candy and had been nibbling at it a little bit when she spotted a familiar face. “hey! so glad to see you here. have you gotten on any of the rides yet? i’m like, so overwhelmed that i don’t even know where to start.”

Velma didn’t usually dress up as much as she did today, but hey, it was Pridemania, which only came once a year, so she figured she’d treat herself to the cute, eighties-ish dress she’d found in a local vintage shop. It was fairly comfy if a bit form-fitting, and while not her usual style, she liked it quite a bit. 

She was trying not to get the powdered sugar from her funnel cake onto her new dress when she spotted Daphne, her best friend and nothing else nope not a secret crush definitely not. Velma nodded at her while chewing her funnel cake. “Hey, Daph! Let me finish this funnel cake and we can head onto some rides. I haven’t gotten onto any yet, but I’ll let you pick the first one.”